Why Engineering Teams Lose Time, Knowledge, and Value  

Today’s engineering organizations face increasing pressure to leverage their valuable knowledge efficiently, make it accessible across global subsidiaries, and meet rising quality and compliance expectations. Despite having strong expertise, up to 40% of development costs are lost to troubleshooting, often because knowledge is not documented in a structured way or reused effectively. Many R&D teams solve the same problems repeatedly simply because they are unaware of existing know-how within the company. Delayed product launches, late design changes, and growing regulatory demands intensify this challenge. At the same time, the lack of an organized data foundation severely limits the effective use of AI, which is a reason only 1 in 20 companies experience a positive effect on their P&L – 95% fail scaling AI1.

Why Traditional Frameworks Often Fall Short?

Many organizations have attempted to adopt existing standards such as ASPICE, INCOSE, or commercial frameworks. Yet implementation frequently fails when faced with day-to-day realities: A “not-invented-here” mindset, misalignment with existing organizational workflows, overly generic guidance and lack of operational integration are reasons for it. ASPICE, for example, is an assessment model, not a process framework. It evaluates projects but does not build lasting organizational capability. INCOSE provides a strong theoretical baseline but is technology-neutral and requires extensive adaptation. The result is predictable: the theory exists, the implementation does not and the next project ends up just as chaotic as the last one.

The Solution: The Engineering Process Framework (EPF)² 

EPF integrates three essential pillars into one cohesive, user-oriented approach:

1. CUBE – FEV’s Compositional Unified System-based Engineering³: CUBE modularizes processes, methods, and workflows. It forms the methodological and structural backbone of EPF and enables configurability, reuse, and clear relationships between requirements, methods, and work products.
2. Standard compliant processes: ASPICE, ISO 26262, ISO/SAE 21434, and additional standards are consolidated, structured, and translated into clear, practical processes. Overlaps, gaps, and ambiguities are resolved systematically. These 150% processes can be tailored to specific project needs with minimal effort using a structured variant management approach.
3. EPF4me – the digital realization: This web-based, AI-enhanced platform makes all content globally accessible: processes, templates, checklists, methods, roles, and historical project knowledge. Key features are an intelligent knowledge chatbot, a project configurator that generates all relevant documents at project start, automated process tailoring and a structured data foundation for AI tools integrated into the process landscape. The result is a framework that is not only defined but truly applied in daily engineering work.

What Makes EPF Unique?

EPF is an all-in-one solution that integrates process development, methodology, organizational enablement, and assessments. It delivers:

• Processes that are actually used, far beyond audit documentation
• Certification readiness through integrated assessments during process development
• AI-enabled automation, e.g., project setup or knowledge retrieval
• Support for organizational change through structured rollout strategies

EPF is an integrated approach tailored to each customer. It brings together your existing artifacts and structures with FEV’s engineering expertise. It is not a one-size-fits-all template, but a customized framework designed for maximum impact.

What Are the Measurable Benefits of EPF?

Evaluations and project studies demonstrate clear efficiency gains:

• 80% effort reduction for ASPICE assessment preparation: Standard compliant 150% processes eliminate the need for extensive project-specific process documentation.
• 80% less workload for initial project setup: The project configurator selects relevant processes and standards, automatically tailors them, and generates the ALM project structure.
• 10× faster knowledge retrieval: No more searching through archives or relying on individual memory, AI makes knowledge accessible within seconds.
• 10% overall cost reduction in vehicle development projects: Through standardized processes, methods, and automation, significant development efforts can be saved.

The result?

The result is a tailored framework that leverages five decades of engineering expertise to significantly enhance efficiency, quality, and competitiveness. FEV supports organizations throughout their entire transformation journey by providing the EPF framework along with customizable process blueprints, offering process consulting from baseline analysis to target definition, and driving operational process and infrastructure development. In addition, certified FEV assessors conduct formal assessments to ensure transparency and measurable progress.

 

Contact 

Interested in collaborating or learning more about EPF?
Get in touch with us at: solutions@fev.io or contact Christian Granrath or Jan-Jöran Gehrt.

References

¹ Challapally, A., Pease, C., Raskar, R., Chari, P., “State of AI in Business 2025”, Version 0.1, Preliminary Findings from AI Implementation Research from Project NANDA, July 2025.
² Gehrt, J., Granrath, C., Caglayan, E., Reckeweg, T., et al., “Structuring Cross-Disciplinary Development: A Systems Engineering Framework for ASPICE-Compliant Mechatronic and Cyber-Physical Engineering,” SAE Technical Paper Series, January 1, 2026, https://doi.org/10.4271/2026-01-5025.
³ Richenhagen, J., et al. “E/E industrialization with MBSE for Series Development of Software Defined Vehicles.” 32nd Aachen Colloquium Sustainable Mobility. 2023.